Repairing Beyond Ambition - Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order fanfic *EDITING*

Chapter 40

As she was sat down, left to her devices and marvelling at the peace and quiet, Altheeda finally began work on the Mantis. This was something that her previously injured ankle and her commitments with Cal had put on hold. The buzz of being at work brought her a specific kind of joy that she didn't realise she missed. It brought her mind back to her days on Bracca, with Cal and Prauf. She was unsure of whether to allow those memories to linger, the loss of Prauf was still rather fresh. Nevertheless, she focused all her efforts in restoring the ship but a new matter formed inside her head, demanding to be addressed.

What was she going to do?

Things had only just begun to blossom between them, not to mention they were both happy. Yet the rules for the Jedi forbade it. As she welded pieces of metal together on pipes nearby the engine, she pondered more on why Cal never told her this information. Cere had already offered plausible explanations and they made sense. Altheeda didn't resent him for it, but things had changed for them. He was on his way to being a Jedi and she had to put that first.

Could she let go?

She knew ultimately the decision was down to her, Cal would not even be suspecting the thought process she was going through at that moment. This made her feel deeply guilty, knowing that she could potentially hurt him with the unexpectedness of it all and it was a given that it would wound her emotionally too.

A part of her begged herself to not go through with it; to hold on to what they had. Some rules could be negotiated. To an extent, she wished that her ignorance of this rule had continued. She heaved a sigh, the weight of the choice she was faced with beginning to take its toll. She finished off her welding work and stowed her tool away back in her box that she had placed by her side. She swapped the welder for her wrench and held it tightly in her hand as her eyes lingered on her toolbox.

What would Turner say to her?

Her eyes squeezed shut as she leaned back against the engine itself, the coldness of it was refreshing to feel. She also wondered what Prauf would have to say on the situation. If only they were still around to guide her. It was likely that Prauf would have told her what she wanted to hear; to keep pursuing this relationship with Cal, yet she knew Turner would have given her some tough love and told her how it was.

She had to do what was best for the majority, not just for herself.

It was then she opened her eyes, squinting slightly to adjust to the light. It was then she looked back down at the wrench in her hand, then gave a small nod at it before resuming back to work with the utmost attention.

Her mind was made up.

***

Dinner for Altheeda was just about bearable, with Greez raving on about how impressed her was with the new state of the engine and Cal talking about his day out in the fields of Bogano. It meant she could just listen; nod and smile at most. That way she couldn't draw attention to herself. As Greez cleared the plates and BD-1 paraded around the table, the Jedi took her by the hand and lead her out of the room towards his cabin. During the walk, her heartbeat grew stronger and her eyes were lowered as she tried to draw strength from somewhere inside herself.

When they entered the cabin, he felt her stop in the middle of the room and let go of his hand. He turned to her and examined her nervous form. He frowned as he stepped closer to her.

"Hey, are you alright, Altheeda?"

"Everything's fine." She spoke, knowing she sounded so unconvincing.

"Something's wrong." He replied, gentling holding her upper arms.

She forgot herself, allowing his comforting hold to briefly take over her until she took a step back and his hands were holding her empty silhouette.